"You okay there, big guy?' Harrison asked.
"My head is making boom, boom, boom," replied Anton. "The stomach is not so good, either." He sat up and looked around. "I think this means we have traveled someplace, yes?"
"Someplace," Harrison agreed. "We certainly aren't where we were. You watch over the others. I'm going to go look around."
"I watch. Yes. This I can do. You go."
Harrison was a bit unsteady on his feet, but he made it to the archway. The light was farther away than he had thought, down a long stone corridor. The floor was intricately tiled in a pattern that seemed to shift when he looked at it, so he kept his eyes focused on the light ahead. That helped his stomach not to feel as if it were trying to crawl up his throat. Eventually, the light resolved itself into another stone archway, this one leading out into a courtyard. Or a Plaza, he thought.
He seemed be at the base level of something that reminded him of a huge amphitheater, made of the same stone as the corridor. There were more archways than he could count around the perimeter of the Plaza, and that was just at this level. There were at least three more levels above him that were even larger. Stairways broke the ring every so often. The sky was evenly bright white, with no discernable source for the light and no clouds. At least it was better than the red sky they'd walked under to get here. That had been... depressing. He thought that he could detect a slight movement in the ring of arches, but he couldn't be sure it wasn't just his eyes playing tricks on him.
"Hey, you're awake!"
Harrison spun around, reaching for his missing pistol. The man who'd spoken was sitting on the stairs to Harrison's left. He was lean but fit looking. His hair was several different shades of brown layered together, and hung a bit past his shoulders. He was incongruously dressed in dark jeans, engineer boots, a blue tee-shirt, and a black biker jacket.
"You speak English," said Harrison. Even as he said it, it sounded stupid for him to say. The man had just spoken English, so of course he did. Harrison's head was really foggy.
"Among other languages," the man replied, unperturbed. "Seemed like a good choice to start with, since you're here with Raven, Simone, and Anton, and I know they speak it by choice."
"I assume you took our weapons" Harrison said.
"It seemed prudent to withhold them for the time being."
"What's preventing me from taking you down with my bare hands?" He didn't like that the man had taken their weapons. It didn't bode well for his intentions.
"Nothing, I suppose. You're welcome to try." The man didn't seem worried. "I wouldn't advise it, though. This place doesn't react well to violence."
"Do you mind telling me what's going on?" asked Harrison. "I'd also like to know why we were attacked, who you are, and how you know the names of my companions."
"Attacked is a strong word," the man said. "You were automatically incapacitated because you were armed. I just gathered up you stuff and put it in a safe place. Don't bother looking for it, though. You won't find it."
"Look, we were armed because we've had a rough time getting here. We're just looking for someone. I'm not even sure where here is. We were trying to get to the Plaza of the Worlds. Is this it?"
"This is it. Honestly, I'm surprised you made it here at all. This place isn't easy to find. Do you mind telling me how you did that?"
"Why should I?"
"Because maybe then I can help you find whoever you're looking for."
"I'm not telling you shit until we have our weapons back and get a few explanations."
"That isn't going to happen – not yet, anyway." At Harrison's irritated expression, he continued. "I know three of your party rather well, but I don't know you or the other woman. Those three couldn't have gotten here on their own. So one of you two isn't what you seem, or you wouldn't have gotten in here."
"You know them well, huh?" Harrison said shrewdly. "I'm guessing that makes you Deegan."
"Guilty as charged," Deegan replied. "But knowing my name means nothing. Who are you?"
"Major John Michael Harrison, USSOCOM."
"US what?"
"United States Special Operational Command."
"What time period is your Earth?"
"I'm from twenty fifteen." It bothered Harrison somewhat that being asked such a question didn't seem strange anymore.
"Then how the hell did you get out here?" said Deegan. "Your people shouldn't have Realm travel for millennia."
"It's been a busy couple of weeks."
"So I gather." Deegan stood up and walked down to where Harrison stood. "The others are awake. Maybe we should all talk about this together." He gestured for Harrison to lead the way.
Harrison shrugged and walked down the corridor to his companions.
Chapter Fifty-Seven
Raven was sitting up on the stone bench, looking pale. Anton was kneeling in front of him as he wrapped Raven's leg with fresh bandages. Gillian and Simone stood to the side, talking. They stopped as Harrison walked in with Deegan.
"Deegan!" Anton boomed.
"Hello, Anton, Raven, Simone," Deegan said with a nod for each. "May I assume that you haven't come looking for me at the behest of the JRC?"
Raven laughed sourly. "Yeah, you should assume that."
"Raven had been exiled on an island for three years when I found him," said Harrison. "I had to kill Kendall and his troops to get him out. Fought quite a few of them to get Anton out of the JRC, and find Simone. We've been fighting the JRC troops ever since."
Deegan frowned. "Corporal Kendall?"
"That's what he called him," Harrison replied with a glance at Raven. "Why?"
"Kendall died on Atlonglast."
"He has attained a measure of serial immortality," Simone replied. "Downloads his mind into a clone before going on missions. It gets activated if he doesn't come back."
"That's creepy," Harrison said. "So you're saying I might have to kill him again in the future?"
"Such things are not unheard of," said Deegan. "I didn't realize Kendall had access to the tech."
"I think he found it in the JRC," said Simone.
"Of course he did," Deegan muttered. "So why are you all here? Why is she here?" he added, pointing to Gillian.
Harrison moved to stand next to her. She hadn't said anything, but she was watching Deegan warily. He could tell that she was wishing she had her rifle; her hand kept clutching the non-existent grip.
"Gillian has been helping us," Harrison replied. "We couldn't have gotten here if not for her."
"That is certainly true." Deegan studied her intently. "You should never have been able to access the Waypoint to this place. You know she isn't human?"
"Neither are you," Gillian said.
Harrison turned and glanced at her. "Not human?"
Gillian shrugged. "I never said I was, but this is what I really look like, unlike him."
"You seem human enough to me." He looked her over again, as much to reassure himself as anything else. He turned back to Deegan and studied him more closely. "Care to explain yourself?"
"She's a shapeshifter from the Courts. I feel the mark upon her."
"She told us where she was from long before now. What about you? What are you?"
Deegan smiled. "I'm something else."
Raven got unsteadily to his feet. "Deegan, I'm not going to pretend that I like Gillian – we haven't gotten along all that well – but she's saved our asses more than once. We needed to find you, and she was the only who had a chance in hell of doing that."
"And why, if I may ask, did you need to find me?"
"The thing that runs the JRC left me on an island to slowly go mad. Simone had left the JRC to try to find you to help me. Harrison here is hoping you can help him get home. Hell, we all are. Also, like he said, we had to kill JRC troops just to get in here."
"'In here'?"
"At the ruined tower in the Buried Ruins," Gillian added.
"They've penetrated the Southern Realms?"
Deegan sighed. "So what, exactly, do you want me to do?"
They looked at each other uncomfortably. "I'd like help getting home," Harrison said. "The others, with the possible exception of Gillian, aren't sure they have a home to go back to."
"I could go back to the Ruined Courts at any time," said Gillian. "I just don't particularly want to. I've come to love the worlds that exist outside its direct influence."
"I'm not a taxi service," Deegan said. "If you all came out here just for that, you're going to be disappointed. I have better things to be doing with my time."
"Deegan," Raven said, "you told me once that you fight against things like what we found on Atlonglast, like Cassandra."
"What's your point?"
"I think the thing that runs the JRC is like that."
"It probably is."
Raven shrugged helplessly. "Anyone else want to pitch in here?"
"The teams sent from the JRC disrupt the balance of the worlds they travel to," Gillian said. "I don't know exactly what this place called Atlonglast was, but things there would almost certainly have been better if the JRC had not interceded. I've seen it elsewhere."
Deegan cocked his head to the side as if listening to something none of them could hear. He held that pose for a few minutes and then sighed gustily. "It seems that the Plaza thinks I should intercede on your behalf."
"So you'll help us get home?"
"I'm going to need a favor first."
"A favor?" asked Harrison. "Why don't I like the sound of that?"
"The Plaza wants you to clear out the JRC and kill the thing running it."
"We're going to need our weapons back," said Harrison. We're fucked, he thought.
"And a miracle," Raven muttered.
"Well, we aren't suggesting you go alone."
"We?"
"The Plaza has instructed me to give you aid."
"You speak of the Plaza as if it has a mind and a voice," Gillian said. She seemed intrigued.
"It does," said Deegan. "A singularly powerful mind. It has decided to trust you."
Harrison didn't think Deegan sounded as if he agreed with Plaza about trusting them, but then, Harrison didn't really trust Deegan, either. "Great. So what now?"
"I'll get your equipment back for you. You help me with this, and I'll see about getting all of you back home. It might be a little difficult for some of you, though. Raven, I think I know where your home is, and it's currently inaccessible."
"But not destroyed, right?"
"As far as I know."
"All right. I'll go with the others wherever they go, if they're okay with that."
Deegan nodded and left to get their equipment, and everyone else was very quiet. Harrison was aware again of a slight vibration transmitted through the floor, and a faint grinding noise. It sounded as if a giant windmill were grinding away at the world. He shuddered.
"Do you think we can do this?" Raven asked him. Simone was sitting with Raven and rubbing his shoulders.
"You're asking me?" said Harrison. "You're the ones who know the enemy. I think we're going to need more than our equipment back, that's for sure. I'm almost out of ammunition, for one thing."
"I'm guessing that isn't going to be a problem," Gillian said quietly. "This place reminds me of home. I think that maybe it could do more than just transport us."
"I still don't think we can do it," Harrison said. "Not alone, anyway."
Deegan came back in with a crate full of their gear. He'd gotten more ammo from somewhere; Harrison didn't ask, and he didn't explain. "I've been thinking about that. I think I know some people who'll be willing help us."
"They have a spare army?" asked Raven.
"Funny you should say that."
Chapter Fifty-Eight
Harrison felt an immense wave of vertigo sweep over him as they arrived at their destination, wherever that was. It looked to him like the set of some science fiction movie, like Aliens, maybe. That didn't fill him with confidence. Things hadn't worked out too well for the soldiers in that movie.
Alarms were blaring, and a voice was speaking in a language he couldn't understand but felt as if he should. Some of the words were almost familiar. Vehicles that looked like futuristic space shuttles were locked into cradles around the massive hold. What might have been fighters or drones were farther down the hold. The space would have held an entire division, at least.
Deegan called out in the same language, and the alarm silenced.
"Should we be worried?" Harrison asked Deegan.
"Just remember what I told you, and keep your hands away from your weapons. Trust me, nothing you have could touch these guys."
The blast doors across from them opened suddenly, and a giant in armor stepped through. At least that was Harrison's first impression. The man – being, he added to himself as he noticed the tail – was at least three meters tall and armed with a massive cannon that it carried with ease. The armored figure had claws on its hands, and its legs were bent back like an animals. Harrison was so startled by the giant that he almost didn't notice the human-sized and -shaped figure next to it.
Deegan said something and gestured to them.
The giant shook its head in a very human gesture and said something back.
"Somebody want to tell us what's going on?" asked Harrison.
The human-sized figure stepped forward. "You speak English!" It was a man, and his voice boomed across the bay. "Sorry." That last was much quieter.
"Yeah, I speak English. What are they talking about?"
"The sergeant is telling Deegan that you need to be taken to Medical for a full workup. He's trying to talk her out of it."
"Her?" Harrison looked at the giant again, but he couldn't tell anything about her gender – not through the armor, at least. Assuming that it would be evident at all on whatever species she was. "So you know Deegan?"
"Yup."
"Hey, I just realized they're speaking Normarish," Raven exclaimed. He said something in that language, as if to try out his memory. "Is there a place called Atlonglast here?"
"You know it?"
"We were there during some problems," said Raven. "Is this the Federation?"
"No, the Sentient Concord." Harrison thought the man sounded mildly irritated.
"Oh, do you know a Tonya Harris?" Simone asked. "She was nice."
"I know Commander Harris," the man replied. He seemed impressed. "Maybe we should all introduce ourselves. I'm Geoffrey Meeks. Just call me Geoffrey."
"I'm Simone," she said, gesturing at herself. She then pointed to each of them in turn. "These are Raven, Anton, Gillian, and Harrison. You apparently know Deegan already."
Deegan interrupted. "We need to go to their medical bay for a diagnostic workup. The sergeant is concerned about pathogens."
"She thinks we're contagious?" asked Harrison.
"They want to make sure you aren't. Also, they don't want any of their germs to make you ill. From what I understand, they have some nasty ones here. I tried to explain that the Plaza said you were clean, but..."
Harrison sighed and looked at the others, who shrugged. Raven looked uncomfortable. "Okay, I guess. Raven has a few... special needs, though. He's allergic to ferrous objects."
"I had a friend like that once," Geoffrey said. Harrison could hear the curiosity in his voice. "Where are you from?"
"Maybe we can talk while we walk?" said Deegan. "We have a lot to discuss and not much time. Is Commander Tebrey or Drake around?"
"Tebrey is on a mission at the moment. Drake is off with him and Ragnar."
The corridors looked very utilitarian to Harrison. They passed through blast doors frequently, and he began to wonder if they were on some kind of giant spaceship. The lettering on the hatches and along the corridor was familiar, but the words weren't quite any language he knew. They didn't pass anyone else as they walked. He didn't know if this was because they had been warned away or if there just weren't
that many people aboard.
"Who's in command?" Deegan asked.
"Of the Archangel teams?" At Deegan's nod, Geoffrey continued. "Commander K'liva. You met her when you were here before."
"I remember." Deegan said something to the sergeant, who nodded and replied. "I'll need to talk to her as soon as possible." Then, "You'll be safe with Geoffrey, here. Just do what they ask. I'll be back as soon as I can." He turned and walked away with the sergeant.
"So what kind of tests are they going to do?" asked Harrison. He wondered why Deegan didn't need to be tested or given any vaccinations.
"Nothing too invasive."
"'Too invasive'?" Raven said. "I don't like the sound of that."
The room they entered looked like a futuristic emergency room, filled with incomprehensible machines. At least the masked doctors and nurses looked like humans. Harrison had begun to wonder.
"This is medical bay seventeen," Geoffrey announced.
"Seventeen?" said Harrison.
"Garm is a large station."
Station? Harrison thought. "Okay, now what?"
The doctors obviously wanted them to split up. Anton, Raven, and Simone followed a doctor into a room to the left, while a different doctor led Harrison and Gillian to an exam room off to the right. She said something to them in the strange language, frowning when Geoffrey replied.
"Sorry," Geoffrey said to them. "Not many people around here speak English."
"How is it that you do?" Harrison asked.
"I'm not from this universe," Geoffrey replied matter-of-factly.
"Deegan bring you here?"
"No, someone else." Geoffrey listened to the doctor for a moment. "She wants you to take your clothes off."
Harrison sighed and began getting out of his gear. Gillian helped him when his ribs grated painfully.
"You're injured?" Geoffrey asked.
"Just a bit," Harrison managed. He sat on the bed and covered his lap with the corner of the sheet. His torso was covered in bruises, and the bandages on his arm and leg looked as if they needed to be changed.
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